Edwina Byron Kaehulani Smythe, 67, of Kahului, died Feb. 13, 2007, at Maui Memorial Medical Center. Edwina helped the ILWU organize many of the hotels on Maui, was deeply involved in union political action, and was a strong and effective union leader.
James A. King died on February 13, 2007 at the age of 85. Jim King was an active member of the Oahu ILWU pensioners club and a retired labor attorney. Jim came from a prominent kama’aina family with deep roots in Hawaii. His mother’s family could trace their ancestry to Hawaiian alii and his grandmother, Charlene Davis, had served as a personal assistant to Queen Liliuokalani. His grandfather, James Anders King was the Minister of the Interior for the Republic of Hawaii and his uncle was Territorial Governor Samuel Wilder King.
Nobuyoshi “Nobu” Tamura of Kilauea died in Hawai‘i Kai, O‘ahu, on Jan. 27, 2007, at the age of 91.
He was born in Kilauea, Kauai, on Feb. 25, 1915, and began working for the Kilauea Sugar Plantation in 1928 after graduating from Kilauea Elementary School. He was 13 years old. He started as a scale house worker and worked his way up to become a journeyman plumber. He became active with the ILWU after the sugar strike of 1946, and served as the unit chairperson of the Kilauea Sugar Unit for 25 years from 1946 until C. Brewer closed the plantation in 1971.
If so, this issue of the Voice of the ILWU was prepared especially for you. As a union member, you are entitled to many rights and benefits and some responsibilities. This issue will help get you started with the essential information you need as a member of the ILWU. (Even longtime members may find the information useful.)
As a member of ILWU Local 142, you are part of a long and proud tradition where workers join or form organizations for their mutual benefit and to promote fairness and justice on the job. These organizations are called labor unions, trade unions, or just unions.
Believe it or not, most workers organize into unions because of bad working conditions and poor treatment by management and not for higher wages and benefits. When workers are organized into unions, they gain the power to change their working conditions and demand respect and fair treatment from management.
The King holiday is unique in that it brings together people of all nationalities and faiths to do something to make the world a better place. This year’s theme, “Remember! Celebrate! Act! A Day On, Not A Day Off!!”, urged Americans to use the holiday as a day of service to humanity.
Your union contract is a written agreement with your employer. It defines your wages, benefits, conditions of employment, and rights on the job. It is enforceable through a grievance procedure and ultimately in a court of law.
Most union contracts are renegotiated every three years, although some contracts run for only one year and others run for as long as six years. How long the contract runs is up to you and your negotiating committee. The ILWU is a democratic union and members are involved in every step of the negotiation process.
at-will—When workers do not have union representation, they are considered to be “at-will” employees, who may be fired at any time—and for no reason.
Twelve priorities top the list of the ILWU’s Political Program for the 2007 Hawaii State Legislature. The full program contains over 94 points.